The unfinished Women in Sandals is part of the Playhouse Square series. Women in Sandals is 44″ x 60.” Here is a painting tip: If you are struggling to get light in a painting, strengthen the darks. You might be surprised at how making the darks darker makes muddy lights shine brightly.
Here is today’s activity. As usual, both paintings are unfinished. Both are part of the Playhouse Square series. Lately, I’ve been using Utrecht’s flake white. It performs decently and is decently priced too. I actually like it better than Winsor Newton’s flake white.
I spent the last two days hammering the armor on the middle-lower painting. (Painters will know what I mean.) It’s not done but it’s getting there. The small painting is for me. It’s a painting of my son John and I’ll never sell it. It’s not finished either but I managed a good session with it…
As usual, here is a shot of recent stuff. I really like the surface on the new painting, Grand Army of the Republic Highway. The gray tone of the ground, which can be seen throughout the painting, is just right: not too dark or too light. The surface is nice and smooth, which a big…
The Candidate, on the easel, is 36″ x 48,” which a format I’ve used a lot recently. The design is based on photos I took during the RNC in Cleveland last summer. I use the stick, or pole, leaning against the painting as a maulstick. Even with my fast-drying medium I have to be…
See, I know I’m my own worst critic. Whenever I finish a painting, I put it away so I can’t look at it for several weeks. If I don’t put it away, I’ll find things that bug me every time I look at it. After a few weeks, I can look at my work with…
Due to changing my ISP, I am late posting this journal entry. I finished the underpainting for Down on Prospect Avenue and started some over-painting. The painting has a long way to go but I’ve gotten this far with just a few sessions, so it’s moving rapidly. As usual, I struggled with the title for…
I worked on these two paintings today. They are at the opposite ends of their cycles. I just started the underpainting on The Candidate (painting on the floor). The other painting, Phone Call on Main Street, is cruising into the dock. I’m not ready to tie it to the dock and cut the engine, but…